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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-11-05 Minutes, Study CommissionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION October 11, 2005 The Study Commission met in regular session in the Commission Room, Municipal Building, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 11, 2005. Present were Chair Loren Olsen, Marilou Turrentine, Brian Close, Bill Hayward, and John Trull. Also present was Secretary of the Study Commission Celeste Janssen and Bozeman Citizen Harold Fryslie. The meeting was called to order by Chair Loren Olsen at 7:06 pm. Minutes Minutes from the October 4th and 7th will be postponed until the following meeting. Public comment Harold Fryslie came to the meeting to catch up with the Study Commission's progress Citizen Panels Transparency and Communication — Bill Hayward and Marilou Turrentine Loren Olsen stated that someone from the Bozeman Chronicle should be present at the first Citizen Panel. Brian Close and Bill Hayward will begin set up for the Citizen Panel at 4:30. Jim Madden will run the session and Loren Olsen will give the opening statement. Bill Hayward will respond if any questions are directed to the subcommittee. Celeste Janssen will email Jim Madden and Tracy Oulman. Marilou Turrentine had good information on the history of the study Commission. Bill Hayward asked if Loren Olsen would cover this information in his introductory remarks. John Trull asked for the information, so that it may be sent to the second Citizen Panel. Representation — John Trull and Brian Close John Trull and Brian Close passed out information for the second Citizen Panel. Brian Close stated that he would like more information on plurality voting. John Trull stated that he would happy to make changes as long as they are received by Friday at noon. Loren Olsen asked for Brian Close to strengthen the argument for seven commissioners, especially the idea of having a more diverse commission. John Trull asked for Harold Fryslie's input, too. Harold Fryslie was brought up to speed on the Citizen Panels. Brian Close, John Trull, and Harold Fryslie discussed Ranked Choice Voting. Mr. Fryslie does not like Ranked -Choice Voting. The second Citizen Panel will be held on November 8, election night. Jim Madden will plan for the second Citizen Panel by attending the Study Commission meeting on November 1st John Trull informed the group that Shelley Vance refused to give any opinions on electoral systems, but she could do research on the cost of a special election. John Trull motioned to have Ms. Vance investigate this cost and Loren Olsen seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Page 1 of 4 George Carter with ClearChannel will have Loren Olsen on his radio show next Monday morning. Mr. Olsen plans to discuss the charter and the Citizen Panels. He would like everyone to have a chance on the radio. Mr. Carter would like to have a few fifteen and thirty second Public Service Announcements. Brian Close noted that the aim of the PSAs should not be to increase meeting attendance, because upcoming meetings will be focused on document editing. Marilou Turrentine suggested asking for public input. Marilou Turrentine and Brian Close will send ideas to Celeste Janssen, who will then put together a few draft PSAs. Marilou Turrentine suggested sending the PSAs to KGLT. Loren Olsen is investigating how to use another site in order to post our color -coded Charter online. The current website only allows plain -text documents. Charter discussions Celeste Janssen presented the Montana State Code for the City Manager position. The Study Commission also spoke about the procedure for editing the charter. After every suggestion, Celeste Janssen will ask if there are three affirmative votes. Three positive votes will mean she will turn item blue (and the item will be included in the Charter as is or with approved changes). Additionally, green text will signify more discussion needed, and red is the track -changes tool. John Trull asked to make a change in 2.07, cross-referencing back to 2.06b. He also suggested adding "unless excused" to 3.04 item number three. The Study Commission agreed to both changes. 3.04. Powers and Duties of the City Manager. Brian would like to have the City Manager prepare the City Commission agenda. John Trull seconded the idea, and Marilou Turrentine was the third vote. Celeste Janssen explained that Ken Weaver's suggestions match Montana Code. Brian Close's suggestions: #14 should be kept, #10 needs to be cross-referenced to the city clerk section, and all other items are fine. Brian motions to confirm the changes, and Marilou Turrentine seconded it. The motion passed unanimously. Item #14 should cover any necessary future changes, and therefore John Trull withdrew his idea of adding a provision for changes. Article IV. 4.01 (a) and (b). Brian Close believes 4.01 is standard, and he gave examples as the Planning Department and City Attorney. Brian Close, Loren Olsen and John Trull voted for 4.01 (a). John Trull, Bill Hayward, Loren Olsen, and Brian Close voted for 4.01 (b). 4.02(a). John Trull asked about seniority, and Marilou Turrentine responded that seniority might be included in competence. All five Study Commissioners voted for 4.02. 4.02 (b) John Trull noted that hiring discrimination due to race, gender, religion, and age are illegal, but discrimination on sexual orientation is legal. He would like to add a clause the City cannot discriminate on sexual orientation. Bill Hayward noted that by focusing solely on merit, there should be no consideration of race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Brian Close and Marilou Turrentine agreed that non-discrimination would be covered by the merit clause. All Study Commissioners voted for this section. 4.03(a). This section was looked at in the previous meeting. 4.03 (b). Brian Close had combined parts of Ken Weaver's second and third suggestion into his version of 4.03(b). Bill Hayward noted that the City Attorney would lose the ability to fire, and he believes that a manager should be able to fire the individuals he hires. John Trull agreed with Mr. Hayward. All five Study Commissioners voted for 4.03 (b). Page 2 of 4 4.04. Brian Close noted that Julia Haggerty convinced him to include this section because growth and development is so important to Bozeman. John Trull and Loren Olsen agreed, and they voted with Mr. Close on including this section in the charter. The Study Commission briefly discussed county and city planning. 4.05. Brian Close stated that his 4.06 would simply recognize the municipal court. Ken Weaver has a similar provision. All Study Commissioners agreed on this section, and it was added to charter as 4.05. 4.06. Brian Close suggested creating 4.06 for Neighborhoods and later working out the language. Loren Olsen suggested temporarily putting in Brian Close's draft language, and then turning the section green. All Study Commissioners agreed. Bill Hayward noted a public information officer might be incorporated in the future. 4.07. Brian Close suggested adding a provision about staggering boards, so there will never be 100% turnover. The Study Commission briefly discussed current board structure and elections. Loren Olsen suggested requiring an ordinance for staggering boards. Brian Close will work on language for this section. John Trull addressed the creation of authority boards. If authority boards are created, he would like members to run for election so that they answer to the citizens in some way. Article V. Article V will be examined at a later date. Loren Olsen would like to have a radio show on the finance topic. Bill Hayward would consider doing the show, but only after the Study Commission has discussed the article. Article VI. 6.01. Section 6.01(a) was written by Brian Close. He recommended greening 6.01(d) because it is being discussed. The Study Commission discussed Jeff Krauss's concern about having a new Commissioner be sworn in at the beginning of a City Commission meeting. The Study Commission could possibly add language stating that new Commissioners shall be seated at the beginning of their first meeting. Bill Hayward and Marilou Turrentine noted that they wouldn't like to lose the nonpartisan clause. Loren Olsen said that political leanings are usually known, and some people think that candidates should go ahead and be upfront. Brian Close isn't sure that organized political parties should be involved in Bozeman's local elections. John noted that the Political Science Professor Jerry Calvert would like to have partisan city elections. John Trull stated that party endorsements should be disclosed. Bill Hayward responded that every donation over $35 must be reported. The Study Commission reworked 6.01(a) and removed 6.01(b) and (c). 6.01(d) and (e) were turned green for further discussion. Marilou Turrentine, John Trull, and Loren Olsen voted for the changes. 6.02. Section 6.02 is in reference to districts, and therefore the entire section can be deleted. Marilou Turrentine, Brian Close, and John Trull voted for the change. 6.03. Brian Close, Loren Olsen, and John Trull agreed to green the section, as it deals with election of City Commissioners. New business There was no new business at this time. Page 3 of 4 Confirming date for next meeting October 18, 2005, at the Senior Center 7:00 p.m. Adjournment - 10:01 p.m. There being no further business at this time, it was moved by Marilou Turrentine, seconded by John Trull, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously. LOREN OLSEN, Chair ATTEST: CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission Page 4 of 4